I feel like the government has some "conspiracy" law in which they have to intentionally add a strange grey area to a serious issue, and that's why they quickly dumped the body at sea. You know, to give all the conspiracy theorists something to talk about for decades to come! I mean really, it is an american tradition.

Yer damn right it is. There was actually one that had President Johnson killing President Kennedy. I love these. As for the timing, it would have been a whole lot better to "fake" this before last November's election debacle. However, this happened on the 8th anniversary of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" gaffe. It doesn't get much sweeter than that.

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"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore attempt the impossible and achieve it, generation after generation.

It is great news that Osama finally got his. Now, I wonder what will come next. The American Embassy has issued warnings for us to be careful when traveling. We are safe in China but I have friends in the Middle East so I do worry about their safety.

Hey Macattack, yeah in the Middle East we are used to these warnings. Don't be too sure,cos Al Qaida got people in London, Madrid and NY and many other locations,they don't care where you are.Also can't help feeling that if the Israeli army had done him ,they would have been accused of being bloodthirsty cold-blooded murderers etc etc.The scenes of people in Times Square celebrating made me feel a bit uncomfortable, and put me in mind of the Palestinians celebrating on their rooves and showering sweets everywhere on the evening of 9/11.And,sorry guys but this IS political whichever way you chew it.

Well yes, everything is political. However, some issues are less politically divisive than others. Given the makeup of this forum, the assassination of OBL, though many of us may have reservations on some of the details and nuances, was always likely to be greeted with somewhere between outright joy and vague acceptance. It's a big event, and it's always nice to be able to feel part of a community, especially when most of us are away from home.

The scenes of people in Times Square celebrating made me feel a bit uncomfortable, and put me in mind of the Palestinians celebrating on their rooves and showering sweets everywhere on the evening of 9/11.

Yup. So long as you eliminate all sense of reason, morality and common sense. Other than that, they are dead ringers for each other.

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"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore attempt the impossible and achieve it, generation after generation.

I feel like the government has some "conspiracy" law in which they have to intentionally add a strange grey area to a serious issue, and that's why they quickly dumped the body at sea. You know, to give all the conspiracy theorists something to talk about for decades to come! I mean really, it is an american tradition.

Exactly. I read that this morning and thought, well-played America, well-played. The rationale was that they don't want his tomb being a holy place for people to visit. Also that Islamic tradition dictates that bodies must be washed and buried in 24 hours. So first of all, I don't know why it would be such a huge problem for him to be buried somewhere and people visit his grave. Call me soft on terrorism, but he's dead now. We bury our war dead and we visit their graves. Second, since when did we abide by the rules of Islam in our treatment of captives and prisoners of war? Okay, apparently, the Obama administration has done a better job of not humiliating or torturing prisoners of war.

Just seems like the Muslim world, not thrilled with us anyway, would understand not be surprised if we kept Bin Laden on ice for a few extra days just to get the proof out there. I didn't sense much gratitude on their part for our conciliatory gesture of chucking him in the ocean, anyway.

Hey Macattack, yeah in the Middle East we are used to these warnings. Don't be too sure,cos Al Qaida got people in London, Madrid and NY and many other locations,they don't care where you are.Also can't help feeling that if the Israeli army had done him ,they would have been accused of being bloodthirsty cold-blooded murderers etc etc.The scenes of people in Times Square celebrating made me feel a bit uncomfortable, and put me in mind of the Palestinians celebrating on their rooves and showering sweets everywhere on the evening of 9/11.And,sorry guys but this IS political whichever way you chew it.

I understand the reservations. Whenever I see people on TV cheering because someone is dead, however horrible their actions, I feel cold. Not so much out of pity for the dead, but for fear of how easily the line in people's minds might be pushed back - one day they're cheering the demise of a mass murderer, but who might it be in future?

The Chinese teacher I was talking to this morning on the bus was ready to believe the conspiracy theories. It's true that the sea burial is odd. It's as if the Obama administration wants the whole deal over as quickly and quietly as possible. Which is sensible, given that antagonizing the Arabs and the Afghans who still remember bin Laden as a hero of the war against Russia is not the best move. But when do politicians do the sensible thing?